Twitter is opening up its full archive to the broader developer community

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Twitter is opening up its full archive to the broader developer community

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Twitter today is launching a new premium product for developers that will provide access to the full Twitter archive – going all the way back to the first tweet from Twitter CEO @Jack (Jack Dorsey) in 2006. Previously, this level of access was only available to enterprise API customers, but it’s now being made available to the wider developer community.

Until today, non-enterprise customers could only choose from the standard (“public”) API that provides access to the last 7 days of tweets, or the more recently launched Premium API (the Search Tweets API) that goes back 30 days.

This new premium API endpoint, called Full-archive Search, will offer all tweets from all time.

Twitter says it works similarly to the 30-day endpoint in that it offers features like the ability to pull more tweets per request than the standard API, and supports more complex queries, higher rate limits, and other advanced features.

Customers will also gain access to the premium account dashboard when they sign up for the Full-archive Search API, so they can monitor usage, manage billing and invite teammates to collaborate.

The addition of Full-archive Search could spur the development of a whole host of new Twitter applications for businesses, brands, or even consumers.

With access to Twitter’s history, businesses could learn how consumer sentiment has changed over time or what people have been saying worldwide about their products and services for more than a decade, for example. But it could also allow for new tools to surface historical tweets in an easier fashion than Twitter’s own advanced search features do today.

Twitter will allow developers to experiment with the new API in a free sandbox environment where they can test things out with up to 50 requests per month. Then, when they’re ready to commit to paying, various subscription packages are available starting at $99 per month.

The subscription pricing is based on requests per month, Twitter says.

The premium API’s launch is part of a larger effort on Twitter’s part to overhaul its API platform and vision for its developer community, announced last year.

The company has had a rocky history with developers, often pulling the rug right out from underneath them, killing developers’ products in the process as Twitter’s own business objectives changed.

Last year, Twitter introduced a series of changes focused on once again embracing its developer community. The API platform it announced takes full advantage of Twitter’s investment in Gnip, the social data provider Twitter acquired in 2014. The larger goal has been to create an API platform that spans the developer community – from indie to enterprise – with steps up along the way.

The Full-archive Search endpoint is available in beta to all developers, starting today, making it the first time anyone could access this data outside of the annual contracts and pricing commitments Twitter requires of enterprise customers.

Existing customers of the Premium (30-day) API can immediately try out the new Full-archive Search free sandbox (it’s under “Subscriptions” in their developer account). Other interested customers can complete the application for access.

Update, 2/1/2018, 5:10 PM ET: Post updated with new pricing charts provided by Twitter. Twitter rep says the original chart they sent to TechCrunch had “some discrepancies.” For reference, the old chart is still available here.

Featured Image: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

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February 6, 2018 at 05:31PM